John Mackie - Partner
Professional Focus
Food and Beverage, Business Organization and Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, Real Estate Development and Land Use Regulation
Contact - John
Phone: (707) 526-4200 x134
Fax: (707) 526-4707
John began his law career in public service at San Francisco’s Department of City Planning. He later worked with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) on industrial siting and went on to serve in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. He completed his government tenure as Deputy Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing for the State of California. In the latter capacity, he served as an ex-officio member of the California Coastal Commission. John has always had a strong interest in wine and food and served as president of the Berkeley Wine and Food Society and is the proprietor of Mackie Family Wines. He brought this passion into his private law practice, establishing a Wine and Food practice for the firm of Bronson, Bronson & McKinnon in 1990. John has been a Partner in the law firms of Freytag and LaForce, Bronson, and Marron-Reid. His practice emphasizes wine and food law, business organization and finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate development and land use regulation.
John represents startup companies, corporations, financial institutions, agricultural concerns, food manufacturers and retailers, wineries, suppliers and trade organizations.
John also advises a number of non-profit clients. He helped to found Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP in 1998, served as its managing partner for a number of years.
- Founding Board Member and Secretary, North Bay Angels
- Founding Trustee and Secretary, The Oliver Ranch Foundation
- Trustee and former Treasurer, Sonoma Academy
- Board Member and President, Sonoma County Food and Wine Center
- Founding Board Member and Secretary, North Bay Food Industry Group
- Member, International Honors Program Advisory Board
- Member, Community Foundation Sonoma County, Friends Advisory Group
- Volunteer Legal Advisor, Bennett Valley Winegrowers , Alexander Valley Wine Growers
- California Artisan Cheese Guild and Sonoma County Culinary Guild
- Volunteer Legal Advisor, Art Start, Alliance for Contemporary Art
- Habitat for Humanity, CERES, Petaluma River Park, Pepperwood Preserve
- Member and President, Rincon Valley Charter School Board of Directors
- Board Member, Sonoma County Humane Society
- Board Member, Wells Fargo Center
- Board Member and Vice President, Museum of Contemporary Art at LBC
- Board Member, Sonoma County Museum
- Periodic Advisor to Sonoma State University: Wine Business Program, Art on Campus, and Entrepreneurship Program
- Volunteer General Counsel, Sonoma Land Trust
- Member, 10,000 Degrees Napa Advisory Committee
- Board Member, Building Markets, Ltd.
- Director, Auntie Pasta, Inc., Union Rubber, Inc. and Sunny-Mac
- Co-authored the chapter on the United States for Kluwer Publishing’s International Food and Beverage Law.
- Authored articles on conservation easements and wine-related contracts.
- Authored “Local Regulations of Wine and Beer Producers in California” Chapter in the Aspatore Volume on Wine and Beer Law.
- Bachelor of Arts, Claremont McKenna College 1970
- Juris Doctor, University of California, Berkeley 1973
- Northern California Super Lawyer
- Leadership San Francisco
- Sonoma County Society of Management Accountants, speaker on “Venture Financing”
- North Bay World Trade Association, organized and moderated panels on International Trade and the American Wine Industry
- North Bay Angels, speaker on “Structuring the Deal”
- Practical Winery and Vineyards Magazine industry conference, “Growers Rights in Bankruptcy”
- Dollar and Sense Conference, Sonoma County Grapegrowers panelist
- Speaker and moderator, Wine Industry Financial Symposium
- Speaker and moderator, Vineyard Economics Seminar
- Speaker and moderator, CA CPA Society, Wine Industry Conference
- Periodic speaker, Sonoma State University
- Moderator, North Bay Business Journal, “Succession Planning” Seminar